Dungey
looked impressive from the start of the first practice session on his
newly released KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition race machine. He
qualified third fastest from practice and was placed in the second
heat.

He
nearly nailed the holeshot once the gate dropped for his eight-lap
heat but was cut off as the riders rounded the first corner and
dropped back to 3rd.
He quickly passed Brett Metcalfe to move into 2nd
behind Andrew Short at the end of the first lap. Dungey, Short and a
hard-charging James Stewart soon found themselves in a three-way
battle for the lead. Stewart made the pass to take over the lead
position while Dungey and Short battled it out for 2nd
place. Dungey was able to make the pass on the final lap to earn 2nd
overall in the heat.

At the
start of the main event, Dungey leaped out front early to earn
another good start on his KTM. He rounded the first corner in 5th
position and passed Mike Alessi for 4th
within the first few turns. He continued his forward momentum making
a clean inside pass on Ivan Tedesco on the third lap of the race to
move into podium position. Out front, Ryan Villopoto led the way
while Chad Reed sat in the runner-up position and Dungey sat
approximately 5 seconds back in 3rd.

Dungey
spent the first half of the race closing the gap on Reed, turning lap
times nearly a full second faster. On the ninth lap Dungey made a
mistake and tucked the front end causing him to crash. He quickly
recovered but lost his position to Stewart. On lap twelve, Stewart
made a slight mistake that Dungey capitalized on and moved his KTM
back into 3rd.
On the next lap, Reed crashed which allowed Dungey and Stewart to
close on him. The three riders then began a battle for 2nd
place that ran for the next four laps.

The
crowd was on their feet as the three battled it out swapping
positions. On the sixteenth lap, Stewart crashed, marking one crash
for each of them. Stewart’s crash cost him a lot of time and he
recovered in 6th
position allowing Reed and Dungey to pull away. Dungey continued to
pressure Reed for the remaining laps eventually crossing the line in
3rd
just a bike length behind Reed.

Dungey’s
podium finish marked the first for the KTM brand in its U.S.
Supercross racing history. It also marked the first podium for the
new KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition. “My bike ran flawlessly tonight,”
remarked Dungey after the race. “I would have definitely liked to
pass Chad and take 2nd
tonight, but I am happy to earn KTM its first podium. I can’t thank
the team enough for all they have done for me in the development of
this new bike.”

Red
Bull/KTM Factory Team Manager Roger DeCoster commented, “The entire
team is excited for the podium finish but we also know that 2nd
place was within our reach tonight. We were happy with Ryan’s
performance but we know we have some areas that need work and we will
begin to correct them immediately. We hope to continue this success
into next week and improve our position on the podium.”